True Crime All The Time Unsolved

Episode 408: The Jack Family Disappearance

Release Date: March 31, 2025
Hosts: Mike Ferguson & Mike Gibson

Episode Overview

In this episode, Mike Ferguson and Mike Gibson delve into the mysterious 1989 disappearance of the Jack family—Ronald (Ronnie), Doreen, and their young sons, Russell and Ryan—in British Columbia, Canada. The hosts examine the family’s background, the context of their disappearance, the investigation’s challenges, and the enduring heartbreak of those left behind. Throughout, they underscore the troubling pattern of missing and murdered Indigenous people receiving insufficient media coverage and investigative resources.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction of the Jack Family and Context

• Family Background:
  • Ronnie and Doreen Jack, both 26 at disappearance, Indigenous members of the Chesloda Carrier Nation.
  • Two sons: Russell (9) and Ryan (4).
  • Moved to Prince George for work; financial hardship due to Ronnie’s back injury.
• Indigenous Experience:
  • Discussion on the abuse Indigenous children, including Doreen and her siblings, faced in Canadian residential schools.
    • “This is the systematic treatment of a race of people that happened to them for years and years and years.” — Mike Ferguson [07:03]
    • Marlene Jack (Doreen’s sister) recalled: “They tell you every day that you'll amount to nothing. It sort of sticks with you and you just don't care about yourself the way you should.” [07:52]

2. Lead-Up to the Disappearance

• Family’s Financial Desperation:
  • Reliance on welfare; Doreen once stole cough medicine for her sons.
    • “It's hard to look down on a parent stealing cough medicine to help out their small child.” — Mike Ferguson [11:16]
• Job Offer from a Stranger:
  • August 1, 1989: Ronnie meets a white man (35–40, 6’–6’6”, 200–275 lbs, red checkered shirt) at the First Leader Pub.
  • Stranger offered logging jobs for Ronnie and Doreen, “with daycare” for the boys, and volunteered to drive them to the site near Klukall’s Lake.
  • Ronnie calls family to share the news—mother Mabel, brother, expressing hope and caution (“if you don’t hear from me, come looking”). [18:06–18:50]

3. Timeline of Disappearance

• Night of August 1–2, 1989:
  • At ~1:20am, neighbors saw the family get into a dark-colored 4x4 and drive off.
  • This was the last sighting. No further word from the Jacks.
    • “And this is the family's last known actions per the RCMP. They were never seen or heard from again.” — Mike Ferguson [19:03]

4. The Investigation: Immediate Challenges

• Reporting Missing:

  • Not reported until August 25 due to lack of contact and their stated plan to be away for 10 days.

• Early Police Missteps:

  • September 7, 1989: RCMP announced (falsely) the family had been located; later retracted.
    • “This is absolutely false…heartbreaking…there is no explanation for why or how this false report was published.” — Mike Ferguson [23:22]

• No Evidence of Voluntary Departure:

  • Furniture, clothing, and children’s school records left behind.
    • “It's not like they decided to move away.” — Mike Gibson [21:19]

5. Theories, Suspect, and Investigation Developments

• Main Suspect:

  • The unknown man from the pub remains the central figure.
    • “The stranger who offered Ronnie the job…remains the prime suspect.” — Mike Ferguson [32:40]

• Anonymous Tip (1996):

  • Seven years later, a brief call tells RCMP “The Jack family are buried in the south end of [blank] Ranch.”
  • Tip traced to a house party in Vanderhoof—unclear if credible or a hoax.
    • “It’s strange…almost like somebody is feeling guilty. It's, like, been weighing on them.” — Mike Gibson [28:05]

• Composite Sketch Discrepancies:

  • Two witnesses in late ‘80s and ’90s gave information, possibly explaining variations in the suspect’s physical description.

6. Family & Community Efforts

• Advocacy and Pain:

  • Marlene Jack steadfast in seeking answers and advocating for missing Indigenous women and girls.
    • “I love my sister with all my heart. I miss her. I'm not giving up. I'm not stopping and I'm not going away.” — Marlene Jack [44:58]

• Additional Tragedy:

  • 2005: Ronnie’s father, Cazumel Thomas Jack, went missing while hunting. Despite a large search, no trace found—compounded the family’s grief.

• Ongoing Searches & Leads:

  • 2018 onward: RCMP appeals, renewed searches, and community-led efforts near Highway 16 (“Highway of Tears”) failed to locate evidence but underscored persistent hope.
  • Use of age-progressed images and volunteer-organized digs as recently as June 2024.

7. Theories & Broader Issues

• Most Likely Scenario:

  • Foul play involving the stranger—possibly targeting, financial motivation (Ronnie owed undisclosed debts), opportunity for exploitation or serial offense.
    • “It could have gone down a number of different ways. But anyone with information is asked to call...” — Mike Ferguson [48:53]

• Unlikelihood of Voluntary Disappearance:

  • Hosts dismiss the notion the family fled by choice, citing poverty and family bonds.
    • “A family who was struggling so badly financially is just going to leave behind the few things that they do have of value. That doesn't make any sense.” — Mike Ferguson [47:09]

• Importance of Visibility for Indigenous Victims:

  • Episode crafted in part to highlight lack of coverage for missing Indigenous families and systemic neglect.
    • “Indigenous people deserve as much coverage as anyone else and maybe more, considering what's gone on in that area.” — Mike Ferguson [50:13]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Systemic Abuse:
  “This is the systematic treatment of a race of people that happened to them for years and years and years.”
  — Mike Ferguson [07:03]

• On Desperation & Choices:
  “It’s hard to look down on a parent stealing cough medicine to help out their small child.”
  — Mike Ferguson [11:16]

• On Gut Feeling and Parental Intuition:
  “If your child, even though this is an adult, says to you, hey…if you don’t hear from me, come looking…You might be on edge a little bit.”
  — Mike Ferguson [19:09]

• On the Callousness of Hoaxers:
  “What are those people getting out of doing that? I just never understand it.”
  — Mike Ferguson [29:01]

• On “Highway of Tears”:
  “That area…because of all the women, many of them Indigenous, who have gone missing in this area.”
  — Mike Ferguson [44:07]

• On Persistence:
  “I'm not giving up. I'm not stopping and I'm not going away. I'm going to be here.”
  — Marlene Jack [44:58]

Important Timeline Timestamps

• [03:56] Case Introduction: Jack family details and background
• [05:12–08:25] Residential school abuse and cultural context
• [13:48] The offer at the pub and circumstances around the job proposition
• [17:23] Ronnie calls family members about the job
• [19:03] Last sighting—family leaves home with stranger
• [22:24] Police announce (incorrectly) the family is safe
• [28:05] 1996 anonymous tip: potential burial site
• [32:40] Suspect composite sketches and investigative challenges
• [36:03] Father’s subsequent disappearance in 2005
• [41:27] RCMP declare lack of evidence but treat as homicide
• [43:00] Volunteer searches and age progression in 2024
• [44:58] Marlene Jack’s determination and final appeals

Host Reflections & Tone

Ferguson and Gibson maintain their trademark blend of approachable banter and deep sensitivity for victims’ stories. They emphasize the personal toll on the Jack family’s surviving relatives, the daunting investigative hurdles, and the lasting injustice obscuring the truth. There is a recurring call for broader attention to cases involving missing Indigenous people—and for anyone with knowledge to come forward.

Resources and Contact Information

Anyone with information about the Jack family disappearance is urged to contact:

• Prince George RCMP: 250-561-3300
• Crime Stoppers (anonymous): 1-800-222-8477 or pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca

“It's incredible that a whole family can disappear off the face of the earth.”— Staff Sgt. Ron Poulta [45:25]